Tofu Pad Bai Gaprow!

People who know me well know of my restaurant eccentricities. I really don’t like ordering something that somebody else at the table has already ordered. So whenever I go out to a Thai restaurant, that essentially means that Pad Thai is right out (since inevitably someone else always orders it). As a result, I’ve had quite a variety of Thai dishes I probably wouldn’t have tried anyway. Gaprow is one of my favorites, and I’ve wanted to make it on my own for a while now. This was a surprisingly easy dish, and came out fabulously.

Ingredients

1 pound tofu (we used extra firm)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 garlic cloves, chopped fine

1 green pepper

2 red chiles, seeded and minced (wear rubber gloves)

1/4 cup chicken/veggie broth

1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice or to taste

Procedure

We froze and thawed the tofu 3 times to get it to firm up a bit more, but I’m not sure if that is totally necessary.

Heat a wok or heavy skillet over high heat until hot. Add oil and heat until hot but not smoking. Add garlic and green peppers, stir-fry until golden. Add tofu and cook, stirring constantly to prevent sticking, until all tofu takes on a golden hue and firms up a bit. Depending on how much water it’s packed in this could take a while. Don’t put the pan on too hot or it’ll all stick to the bottom and ruin Christmas.